France has rejected any monopoly in the music download market, requiring that downloads be accessible to any type of digital player. The legislation would be a blow to Apple’s online music, ITunes, which dominates the global online music market and can only be played on the Apple iPod. The decision...
The dominance of the Apple iPod hit its first European stumbling block yesterday when French MPs voted to force companies to allow music downloads to be played on all types of digital players, not just their own...
Most Latin American nations have democratized over the last ten years in terms of free and fair elections. With falling living standards and stagnating income, however, the region continues to be mired in poverty and democracy remains dysfunctional. Governments have produced skin-deep democracies...
Click here for the original article on The Daily Times website.
China has cracked down on the internet once again. This time, the government has targeted news discussion groups, which often feature independent reporting not approved by the government. While it is common for Beijing to quiet dissenting voices before an upcoming National People's Congress (...
Click here for the original article on The Los Angeles Times website.
For the first time since 1983, the Arab League cancelled its summit, citing "difference of views" as the reason. While Egypt wished to discuss US proposals for reform in the region, Syria wanted to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arab despots have often used the Israeli-...
THE dramatic last-minute cancellation of the Arab League summit in Tunis has left the region's leaders vulnerable to fresh accusations of incompetence from the masses they rule over.
The cancellation has also...
Though enshrined in the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals, clean sustainable energy looks a long way off in much of Asia. Demand for coal in India and China has risen exponentially in recent years, fuelling fears of an imminent pollution crisis. Efforts to steer Asia away from the...
Energy and sustainable development are inherently linked -- a fact recognized by all organizations. Furthermore the inherent unsustainability of an energy system based upon the wasteful use of fossil fuels and non-...
Contrary to popular Western belief, free elections in largely Muslim states would not lead to domination by violent terrorist regimes, argues columnist Jonathan Power in this Khaleej Times article. Indonesia and Turkey are shining examples of Muslim nations that have used the democratic system to...
THE two big wings of Islam - Turkey in the West and Indonesia in the East - are reforming and changing at a lightening pace, confounding those who only measure Islam by its seemingly stagnant middle ground.
Next week Indonesia goes to...
A new class of freedom fighter has emerged in Cuba - the computer hacker. In a country where high prices and government censorship restrict access to the internet, an increasing number of Cubans are using creative methods to explore the internet unhindered. These "informaticos" acquire...
In Cuba, the Internet has become the latest battleground in that country's quiet struggle for freedom. With World Wide Web access restricted to only a few government-controlled websites, increasing numbers of Cubans are hacking through...
Although the Minister of Information and Communications Technology in Thailand raised concerns over the effects of the massive population of players of online games, it is clear that these gamers are driving up the demand for broadband service. One particular game, Ragnarok, has a registered...
Online gaming is the main driver behind the uptake of Internet broadband services here, a senior executive of one the country's major Internet service providers said recently.
"Looking at the world trend today...